Best Self Hosted Alternatives to Men&Mice Micetro

Technitium DNS Server is an open-source, cross-platform DNS server that can run as both an authoritative server for your zones and a recursive resolver for clients on your network. It includes a browser-based administration console and can improve privacy, performance, and control by handling DNS locally and supporting encrypted upstream DNS.

Key Features

• Authoritative and recursive DNS operation, including forwarding and conditional forwarding
• Encrypted DNS services and forwarders: DNS-over-HTTPS, DNS-over-TLS, and DNS-over-QUIC (including HTTP/1.1, HTTP/2, and HTTP/3 for DoH)
• DNSSEC validation and signed-zone support, plus advanced record types and zone features
• DNS-based blocking (ads/malware) via block lists, with options like regex-based and per-client/subnet policies (via DNS Apps)
• Web-based admin console with multi-user, role-based access, API tokens, and optional TOTP 2FA
• Built-in DHCP server for multiple networks and IPv6 support
• Query logging, system logging, statistics, caching features (including persistent cache) and clustering for managing multiple instances

Use Cases

• Home or small-office DNS resolver with network-wide ad/malware blocking and encrypted upstream DNS
• Self-hosted authoritative DNS for internal zones and lab environments with zone transfers and DNSSEC
• Network visibility and control through query logs, policy routing, and split-horizon responses

Limitations and Considerations

• Default web console credentials and auto-login behavior require immediate hardening after installation
• Some advanced behavior is implemented through DNS Apps, which may add operational complexity compared to basic DNS setups

Technitium DNS Server is well-suited for users who want a powerful DNS platform that combines authoritative hosting, recursive resolution, privacy-focused encrypted DNS, and centralized web-based management. It can serve as a Pi-hole alternative while also covering advanced DNS features typically found in dedicated DNS infrastructure.

Unbound is a validating, recursive, caching DNS resolver designed to be fast, lean and standards-compliant. It implements modern privacy and DNSSEC-focused features and runs on Linux, BSD and macOS. (nlnetlabs.nl)

Key Features

• DNSSEC validation and support for DNSSEC-related optimizations (aggressive use of DNSSEC-validated cache).
• Recursive, validating and caching resolver behavior with configurable cache policies and performance tuning.
• Encrypted client transport: supports DNS-over-TLS (DoT) and DNS-over-HTTPS (DoH) to protect client→resolver traffic.
• Query Name Minimisation and other privacy-preserving standards to limit data sent to authoritative servers.
• Authority zones / ability to load a copy of the root zone for isolated or offline operation.
• libunbound API for embedding resolver functionality into applications.
• Configurable build options and runtime modules (TLS via OpenSSL, optional libevent, modular extensions).

(nlnetlabs.nl)

Use Cases

• Run a local or network resolver for homes, offices or ISPs that needs DNSSEC and encrypted client transport.
• Deploy a privacy-focused resolver for client devices by enabling DoT/DoH and query name minimisation.
• Integrate DNS resolution into applications or services using the libunbound API for validated lookups.

(nlnetlabs.nl)

Limitations and Considerations

• Unbound is a recursive/validating resolver and is not designed to act as an authoritative DNS server.
• Some features require build-time dependencies (C toolchain, OpenSSL, libexpat; building from source may need flex and bison). Optional modules (e.g., libevent) change runtime behavior and scalability trade-offs.
• Primary platform focus is Unix-like systems (Linux/BSD/macOS); Windows support is limited compared to Unix platforms.

(github.com)

Unbound is a mature, open-source DNS resolver maintained by NLnet Labs with an emphasis on security, privacy and standards compliance. It is widely packaged for major Unix-like distributions and is suitable for both personal and operator-scale resolver deployments.

(nlnetlabs.nl)

Gravity is a lightweight network services suite that provides fully-replicated DNS, DHCP and TFTP functionality with built-in ad‑blocking and a web UI/API for management. It is designed for small to medium networks and multi-site deployments where replicated state and ease of migration matter.

Key Features

• Fully-replicated configuration and runtime data across cluster members (replication/backing store is used to synchronize state).
• DNS server with local caching and configurable ad/privacy blocking; can operate as a forwarder while maintaining its own records.
• DHCP server with automatic DNS registration and import capabilities for existing Microsoft DHCP leases/reservations.
• TFTP server for storing device configurations and PXE/netboot workflows.
• Web-based UI and HTTP API for management and automation.
• Metrics exposed for Prometheus; bundled dashboards/visualizations are supported for observability.
• Backup role supporting snapshot export to S3-compatible storage and local snapshots.
• Provided as container images and can be deployed with Docker Compose or container runtimes.

Use Cases

• Replace or consolidate DNS/DHCP/TFTP services for small office or branch networks with a single, replicated platform.
• Multi-site deployments that require synchronized DNS/DHCP state without external databases or complex primary/secondary setups.
• Air-gapped or regulated environments where cluster images and bundled artifacts simplify migration and offline installs.

Limitations and Considerations

• Minimum recommended resources are modest but non-trivial (examples note at least 1 CPU core and ~1 GB RAM); resource needs grow with many DNS zones or when Blocky/CoreDNS ad‑blocking is enabled.
• Official support targets AMD64 and ARM64 builds; other CPU architectures are not guaranteed.
• Performance and memory usage can increase significantly with large numbers of zones or very high query/lease volumes; plan capacity accordingly.

Gravity provides a compact, self-contained alternative for replicated network services with observability and backup integrations. It focuses on operational simplicity for multi-node and multi-site scenarios while exposing management APIs for automation.